What The Surviving Cast Members Of The Love Boat Are Doing Today

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After its premiere in 1977, "The Love Boat" onboarded millions of viewers with its famous opening line, "Come aboard, we're expecting you." Inspired by Jeraldine Saunders' 1974 memoir, "Love Boats," in which she recounts her time as a female cruise director, legendary TV producer Aaron Spelling and writer Wilford Lloyd Baumes embarked on a journey to bring the non-fiction work to life. They largely succeeded, as it remained a cultural phenomenon throughout its 10-season run. Thanks to the memorable crew of Princess Cruises' Pacific Princess, many of us grew fond of the actors who made the series memorable. This also made the loss of some of its cast, from Gavin MacLeod to Monty O'Grady, hit much harder. Luckily, this isn't the case for the rest of the cast, as they've all gone on to lead fruitful lives while maintaining their acting careers, shifting into other professions, or simply remaining out of the spotlight.

Alongside its main cast, "The Love Boat" was home to early career highlights for future icons like Tom Hanks and Jamie Lee Curtis. Most notable, however, was the show's influence beyond the acting industry. Similar to the positive impact "Emergency!" had on the perception of first responders and firefighters alike, "The Love Boat" was responsible for the sudden rise in leisure cruising in the 1980s, which lasted years beyond its 1987 departure from ABC. The series' legacy persists and lives on in these surviving actors of the beloved cast.

Before portraying the playboy Dr. Adam Bricker in "The Love Boat," Bernie Kopell was a prominent face on television. Given his previous TV roles as Siegfried in the "Get Smart" and Jerry Bauman in "That Girl," it's no surprise that Kopell continued down this path well after "The Love Boat" ended in 1987. His identity spanned across many sitcoms in the following decades. In "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Martin," he ironically made guest appearances as "Doc," which paid homage to his fictional counterpart from "The Love Boat." This doesn't include his other guest appearances in more modern classics like "Arrested Development," in which he played Judge Kornzucker.

Kopell also had his fair share of dramatic roles, such as his 2017 performance in "Hawaii Five-0" as a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor, Itzhak Rozen. Despite his comedy background, this role wasn't out of Kopell's range as an actor. In a 2018 interview with the Television Academy Foundation, Kopell expressed how excited he was to take part in a storyline that wasn't purely comedy. "I love character stuff ... I love to do it. I don't know how many people can do that sort of stuff authentically, and I can. And I'm called upon to do it occasionally. I'm very grateful for that," he stated. At 93 years old, Kopell has seemingly taken a backseat from acting, with his last few performances being in "B Positive," "Grey's Anatomy," and "The Lincoln Lawyer."

Ted Lange enjoyed a strong 10-year gig on "The Love Boat" as the Pacific Princess' dedicated bartender, Isaac Washington. With a prominent career beforehand in series such as "That's My Mama" and "Mr. T and Tina," this wasn't necessarily Lange's first taste of success. It sure was his most memorable, though. Unfortunately, this was both a gift and a curse for Lange, who was pigeonholed in the acting industry. After "The Love Boat," Lange became more interested in directing and playwriting rather than acting on-screen. During his January appearance on Steve Kmetko's "Still Here Hollywood" podcast, Lange credited this pivot as the main catalyst for finding success after "The Love Boat." "I was told, Steve, that I was never going to make it in show business. And to my surprise, what I found out, show business encompasses a lot of things," he explained. "It's not just standing on stage saying lines."

Since the '80s, Lange has garnered directing credits in various television shows from "The New Gadget" to "The First Family." He's also written for television, but his most notable successes came in theater, where he became an award-winning playwright through the 1997 production of "Four Queens – No Trump," the 2017 prequel to Shakespeare's "Othello," "The Cause, My Soul," and much more. He's continued to find success in theater, with his most recent play being the 2026 comedy "Shakespeare Over My Shoulder."

In "The Love Boat," Fred Grandy became one of the show's more earnest comic reliefs. By portraying the ship's purser, Burl "Gopher" Smith, Grandy accrued his most notable role to date. The demise of "The Love Boat," however, coincided with Grandy's decision to leave Hollywood. After relocating back to Iowa, Grandy told The Christian Science Monitor in 1986 that he needed a major life shift. In addition to wanting to raise his kids in a more rural area instead of bustling cities such as New York and Los Angeles, Grandy also grew tired of Hollywood. "Most of acting in television and film is waiting for the set to be lit ... In the time I have waited for electricians and hairdressers, I could have become a doctor, a lawyer, probably an astrophysicist. And I just couldn't stand this much downtime in my life," he said.

After leaving Hollywood, Grandy became a Republican member of the House of Representatives for Iowa from 1987 to 1995. By 2003, he transitioned into radio, becoming a co-host of a Washington-based program, "The Grandy Group." Grandy later left the show in 2011 after a political comment that landed him in hot water. Grandy didn't limit himself to one medium, as he returned to acting in the mid-2010s. Grandy continues to act well into the 2020s, mostly through guest TV appearances and satirical musicals.

Portraying the cheerful cruise director Julie McCoy on "The Love Boat" was a prominent highlight of Lauren Tewes' career. Given her appearance in each season of the series — as well as her reprisal of Julie in "Charlie's Angels" and "Martin" — it was safe to assume Tewes would have a fulfilling acting career. And she would, but not without navigating challenging personal issues behind the scenes. Tewes developed an addiction to cocaine shortly after snagging her role on "The Love Boat." Despite this, she continued to work on the show until she was let go during the final season.

Tewes subsequently disappeared from Hollywood to rebuild her life from the ground up. Around 2000, she traded her former life as an actor for a career as a sous chef in Seattle. However, it wasn't enough to fully keep her away from acting. In a 2014 interview with the Miami Herald, Lewes expressed a deep interest in returning to the big screen. "I like working with food, but to be honest I am looking forward to not standing all day and doing more acting," she admitted. She sporadically took on acting roles throughout the 2010s, with her most notable appearance being in the 2017 adaptation of "Twin Peaks." As of 2026, Lewes' most recent role to date was Nina Ivanovna in the 2021 dark comedy "Potato Dreams of America."

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Not many could say they've had the fortune Jill Whelan had as an actor. On "The Love Boat," Whelan made her television acting debut as Vicki Stubing, the daughter of Captain Merrill Stubing. The series catapulted her into mainstream success, allowing her to appear in shows "The Young and the Restless" and "Diagnosis Murder." Whelan, however, ended the '90s by segueing into different career paths. In 1999, she worked as an investigative news producer for KCOP News. From 2005 onward, she gained co-hosting experience through Philadelphia's WPHT-AM radio and "The Brian and Jill Show." Amidst a 2007 cabaret show, she continued to find work in projects like "Phineas and Ferb" and "The Bold and the Beautiful."

One of her most notable contributions was to the cruising industry, which mirrored her prior work on "The Love Boat." In 2015, Whelan was named the celebrations ambassador for Princess Cruises. Outside of acting, her imprint on the cruise line has been well established for years. "During my many years of cruising around the world with Princess, I've witnessed countless guest celebrations of all kinds, and I've seen first-hand the special nature of celebrating at sea," she said (via PR Newswire). "That's why I'm so excited to be in this new role for the company." As of 2026, Whelan remains active in her work for Princess Cruises, while also maintaining her acting career.

Coming from a successful run on "Happy Days," Ted McGinley joined the cast of "The Love Boat" as Ashley "Ace" Covington Evans in Season 7. After "The Love Boat," McGinley later appeared alongside the casts of "Married... With Children" and "Hope & Faith." During this time, he frequently found himself as a late-stage inclusion in most sitcoms up until their finales. He accidentally became known as "the sitcom killer," per NBC News. Fortunately, McGinley found humor in the nickname, as it never stopped him from working.

 Whether it was voiceover work on "Transformers: Robots in Disguise" or returning to his sitcom roots in "The Baxters," McGinley kept adding to his resume. Notably, McGinley joined the 2023 Apple TV+ original, "Shrinking," where he played Derek alongside other Hollywood heavy-hitters, including Harrison Ford and Jason Segel. In an April interview with People, McGinley gushed about the gig, admitting it was a role he could've only dreamed of having. "I spent my entire career wondering what it would be like to work opposite a man like Harrison Ford [and] Jason Segel," he said. The series gave McGinley the most success he has ever found throughout his multi-decade career. "I was just in New York ... and the reception from people in the airport or walking ... You stop in Times Square and 50 people say, 'Derek! Derek!'" he recalled. "I swear I've never been in that situation, and it's all benevolent."

Starting her career as early as 1979, Pat Klous garnered relative success on television. After portraying Marcy Bowers in "Flying High," Klous took on various guest roles before becoming a late addition to "The Love Boat." At first, she guest-starred as various one-off characters. Klous didn't permanently join the cast until Season 8 as Julie McCoy's younger sister, Judy McCoy, the new affable cruise director on the Pacific Princess. Klous served as the replacement for Lauren Tewes, who was navigating her addiction at the time.

Lasting well into Season 9, her stint on the "The Love Boat" quickly became the role Klous was best known for throughout her career. While this was partly due to the show's popularity, Klous herself disappeared from Hollywood shortly thereafter. Following "The Love Boat," Klous only appeared in "Murder, She Wrote" for one episode in 1987. Klous officially retired from acting in 2002 after a guest appearance on the TV special, "The Love Boat: TV Tales." Though, she served as the associate producer for the 2016 short "Demonic Attachment" and the 2020 film "Tales from the Grave: The Movie," which shows that she's still working in the acting industry in some form. As of 2026, not much is known about her whereabouts.

In the Seasons 9 and 10 of "The Love Boat," producers added a group of showgirls known as The Love Boat Mermaids to perform musical routines to boost weekly ratings. This group included various names like Debbie Bartlett, Debra Johnson, and more. Most notably, the musical act included Teri Hatcher, who played Amy. Of all the Love Boat Mermaids, Hatcher was the only one who remained in the limelight. According to her 2025 interview with The Bossticks, Hatcher was convinced to participate in a nationwide audition for the role by a close friend. Without any prior acting experience, she got the role and used her time on "The Love Boat" to build her new budding career. "Looking back, I definitely wish that I had had that kind of training," she said of her desire to attend an acting academy when she was younger. "But I do feel like I have a good work ethic and I'm sort of a sponge kind of a person."

This became apparent in the years that followed "The Love Boat." From playing the role of Sidra Holland in an iconic episode of "Seinfeld" to portraying Lois Lane in "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," Hatcher became a household name. She earned more notoriety from 2004 to 2012 thanks to her performance as Susan Mayer in "Desperate Housewives." Hatcher continues to find work in the 2020s, ranging from comedies like "The Odd Couple" to the 2024 animated AppleTV+ series, "WondLA."

Marion Ross was an actor frequently called upon throughout several seasons of "The Love Boat" to play one-off characters. By Season 9, she snagged the role of Emily Haywood, a widow who eventually married Captain Merrill Stubing. Ross, however, was already a household name in Hollywood. Her stint on "The Love Boat" took place after her iconic role as Marion Cunningham on "Happy Days" came to an end in 1984. While her role on "Happy Days" earned her two Primetime Emmy nominations, Ross eventually took up other award-winning roles following both "Happy Days" and "The Love Boat." These roles included her performance as Sophie Berger in the 1992 comedy "Brooklyn Bridge" and her 1999 guest appearance in the series "Touched by an Angel."

With a diverse portfolio ranging from "That '70s Show" to "SpongeBob SquarePants," Ross was one of the more legendary names to appear in "The Love Boat." In 2018, she released her memoir "My Days, Happy & Otherwise," which chronicles her rise to stardom. During a 2018 Barnes & Noble book signing event, Ross spoke candidly about her career trajectory and the reason why she's passionate about acting well into the later stages of her life. "See, I'm very interested in people ... You must be like that. Not just interested in yourself, unless you just want to be a star," she quipped. "But to be an actor, that means you bend yourself into somebody else."

Michelle Johnson earned notoriety after her performance in the 1984 film "Blame It on Rio." Appearing alongside stars like Michael Caine and Demi Moore, Johnson had all the makings to be a breakout star, especially once she earned the role of Kim Carlisle on "The Love Boat." Although Johnson's character only had minor plotlines in Season 8, this was a strong TV role that helped the actor's career move forward. After "The Love Boat," she went on to guest-star alongside the casts of "Charles in Charge," "Moonlighting," "Melrose Place," and "Murder, She Wrote."

By the 2000s, roles became sparse for Johnson. Topping the year with "Revenge" and later appearing in the 2004 film "Mickey," Johnson seemingly moved onto a different chapter of her life. In a 2018 interview with Cryptic Rock, Johnson spoke candidly about venturing into music. "I really started out writing poetry. I met some people in 2008 or 2009 who were music producers," she stated. "I started working with them and taking some of my poetry and turning it into music, etc. It's just another creative process." In 2014, she released her debut album, "Popular." Although the album wouldn't garner much success, Johnson noted that music was more creatively fulfilling for her than acting. With Johnson's last acting role being in the 2018 film "Holiday Spectacular," it seems she is content leading a relatively private life away from the limelight.